My BLOG about my journey into the invisible world of ultraviolet UV photography, simulated bee, butterfly and animal vision photography and the special lenses, filters and lighting needed to make it work - also in HD video + 3D stereo.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Today shots of a very liked, long blooming spring flower, an all yellow variant Treasury flower - Gazania rigens in reflected ultraviolet photography and simulated bee and butterfly vision. All shots were done at about f5.6 in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter, as well as my XBV filters for simulated bee and butterfly vision. Lens was a CERCO 94mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was sunlight.

Quadriptych of human vision, UV, simulated butterfly and bee vision (left to right, top to bottom):

This Gazania's outer petals reflect strongly UV around 365nm, and there are also highly UV reflecting marks inside around a dark UV center, all invisible to us humans, and all this gets nicely visible, also in simulated bee and butterfly vision.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Today more shots of that rare early spring flower, common in Japan at Shikoko island, Shikoko Cobra Lilly - Arisaema sikokianum. in reflected ultraviolet photography and simulated bee vision. All shots were done at about f5.6 in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter, as well as my XBV6 filter for simulated bee vision. Further for deeper UV, a 340nm short pass filter was used, stacked to the Baader-U filter. Lens was a CERCO 94mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was sunlight.

I had mentioned before that I noticed some UV lighting around 340nm which caught my attention and here it is about that.

This Cobra Lilly flower has are extremely UV bright cup around 370nm, with parts drifting towards 380nm. Further to that, deeper UV photography below 340nm reveals, that their cup, but also an area at the bottom of the spathe reflects UV strongly. All that gets nicely visible.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Today shots of a well known early spring flower, Common Thyme - Thymus vulgaris. in reflected ultraviolet photography and simulated bee vision. All shots were done at about f5.6 in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter, as well as my XBV6 filter for simulated bee vision. Lens was a CERCO 94mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was sunlight.

This Cobra Lilly flower has are extremely UV bright cup around 370nm, with parts drifting towards 380nm and its spadix has UV bright veins leading towards the cup. And all this gets nicely visible, also in simulated bee vision. There is however something lighting up around 340nm that caught my attention and I will investigate on that.

This Flax flower has a less prominent UV pattern, its petals however are quite UV bright around 380nm, its center is dark in UV forming the typical bullseye pattern and there are also UV dark veins visible leading to the UV dark center, where the nectar is and all this gets nicely visible, also in simulated bee vision.

This Star-of-Bethlehem flower has a less prominent UV pattern, its petals however are very UV bright around 370nm, its center is a bit darker in UV and shows a shifted reflection to about 380nm and all this gets nicely visible, also in simulated bee vision.

Today shots of a spring flower, a Field Buttercup - Ranunculus acris in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter as well as my XBV6 filter for simulating bee vision. Lens was a CERCO 94mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at about f5.6.

This well known plant has a very unique feature, it has very reflective petals which are able to light up your skin if held beneath. I make this visible here in human vision, ultraviolet and simulated bee vision.

Triptych of human vision, UV and simulated bee vision (left to right) showing how much this flower stands out for its pollinators against the background :

This Ranunculus flower indeed shows a quite unique feature, very strong specular highlights and directional reflection under a 45 degree angle. It also has a very specific UV bulls eye pattern, its petals are bright in UV around 365nm, but its center is very UV dark and all this gets nicely visible, also in simulated bee vision.

About Me

This is my blog about my film and photographic work in 3D, ultraviolet UV, infrared IR and fluorescence using special lenses and equipment. All text and images carry my copyright and I do not allow to link to or copy / download from my site or any parts thereof without my prior permission.
email me in case of questions or interest in my images (esp. for non-profit orgs) or if you need a complete camera + lens + filter + light set for UV photography:
postmaster AT macrolenses.de